SMU basketball entered the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament ready to make its March Madness case. The Mustangs rolled in round one inside the Spectrum Center over Syracuse. Except Andy Enfield took a fierce shot at the refs following their second-round game against Louisville on Wednesday.
His Mustangs fell in close fashion, 62-58, against the Cardinals. But Enfield came right after the officials in his postgame presser.
“The margin for error in games like this is very small. I’m not sure I’ve been in a college basketball game where a team (Louisville) has only two team fouls going into the last minute. They were clutching and grabbing on every possession. Small margin,” Enfield told reporters.
Louisville advances on and keeps its tourney hopes alive. But UL places SMU on shakier ground.
SMU March Madness odds following Louisville loss
The four-point loss causes turbulence for SMU's chances to crack the field of 68.
Enfield and the Mustangs faced bubble status ahead of the Louisville contest. Yet they were still given a high percentage to make it in. Now, Neil Paine lists SMU as one “sweating out Selection Sunday” moving forward from here.
“The Mustangs' consensus at-large chances sat at 94% about two weeks ago, but losses in four of their final five regular-season games made them less certain heading into the ACC tournament,” Paine began. “And although Tuesday's first-round victory over Syracuse stabilized their odds some, a second-half lead over Louisville slipped away Wednesday, leaving them at 52% (a coin flip!) as Selection Sunday approaches.”
SMU does have an advantage over Stanford, one more ACC bubble team. But North Carolina State rises as one that could break in over the Mustangs after beating Pittsburgh and advancing to face Virginia for Thursday. The Wolfpack already own a previous win over SMU.
